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Leeds held to Rotherham draw

Date published: Saturday 2nd May 2015 2:00

Cellino, banned by the Football League for his tax conviction, was given permission to attend the final game of the campaign but did not make himself known as the Yorkshire derby ended in an anti-climatic stalemate.

This could still turn out to be Redfearn’s final game in charge, with the future of the Leeds head coach still uncertain, and he would have signed off with a victory had Alex Mowatt and Billy Sharp converted good chances.

Not all the pre-match hype concerned the circus at Leeds as Rotherham boss Steve Evans hogged the limelight when he said he would turn up in a sombrero and flip-flops after guiding his side to safety in the week.

The Scot was true to his word, exiting the team coach on arrival at Elland Road in his beach-wear. And his side could also have been celebrating a curtain-closing win, with Danny Ward and Danny Lafferty spurning their best opportunities.

Indeed, the Millers did not look like a side who had spent much of the week celebrating their survival and made the better start in wet and windy conditions.

They got in behind the Leeds defence on several occasions, but struggled to create anything clear-cut until Lafferty put his diving header over the bar at the back post when arriving in the box unmarked.

The hosts used that escape to get themselves going and began to test the visiting defence for the first time.

Liam Cooper’s flicked header was well saved by Emi Martinez before Kari Arnason’s superb tackle denied a certain goal for Charlie Taylor, who had found himself in space on the penalty spot.

But the Millers responded and were only denied the lead by one of their own players as Matt Derbyshire inadvertently got in the way of Ward’s goal-bound effort, with his team-mate’s shot smashing him in the face.

Evans’ men continued to look the more likely before the break as Lee Frecklington curled straight at Stuart Taylor and then Ben Pringle’s volley was blocked.

Leeds were desperate to end a campaign dominated by off-field headlines with a bang on the pitch, and they upped the ante after the restart, with only two pieces of heroic defending denying them the lead.

First, an intricate passing move between Mowatt and Steve Morison saw the former get in on goal but his shot was superbly blocked by Lawrie Wilson, and then a brilliant last-ditch tackle from Richard Wood stopped Sharp bundling home.

Both sides tried their best to fashion a winner, with Rodolph Austin and Sol Bamba forcing Martinez into parrying saves while Jonson Clarke-Harris fizzed a free-kick just wide for the Millers.

The full-time whistle was greeted with chants of ‘There’s only one Neil Redfearn’ as the off-field saga at Elland Road looks sure to drag on into the summer.